A case for rethinking inclusive education policy creation in developing countries

This article presents a critical analysis of the development and implementation of the 2014 inclusive educational policy in Samoa. While Samoan culture is traditionally founded on inclusive social practices, rather than reflecting these practices in their policy, Samoan policy developers have been under pressure to adopt or borrow policy from other countries. The findings of this intrinsic case study highlight the complexity of formulating inclusive education policies for small developing countries and why policy developers borrow from other developed countries. The theoretical framework used to analyse observation data in this study is based on the notion that national process of development is a powerful influence in educational policy. The authors argue and advocate for the existing but overlooked strengths of the local knowledge community capacity when policy is borrowed from other countries, and how the findings of the case study contribute to future attempts at policy development. We found that the draft policy needs to and does reflect Samoan culture, values and vision. However, adopting foreign practices such as the individual education plan and placement rules is not relevant to the Samoan context. The identification and development of inclusive education beliefs, skills and practices in schools is a priority.     

Pelvic fractures in infants as a sign of physical abuse

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to describe pelvic fractures in two abused male infants, and to determine if the literature describes pelvic fractures in infants as suspicious for child physical abuse. RESULTS: Two infants are described with unexplained pelvic fractures. While in one case child abuse was obvious, careful attention to the radiological evaluation and case history led to the correct diagnosis of child abuse in the second case. A search for information regarding pelvic fractures in children resulted in information limited to the radiological and surgical literature. CONCLUSIONS: Medical providers frequently encounter children with fractures suspicious for child abuse. The most common fractures seen in abused children are metaphyseal, rib, skull, and long bone fractures. This report illustrates that pelvic fractures occurring in the absence of serious, well documented accidents should be considered highly suspicious for child physical abuse.     

An evaluation of the role of dual coding in mediating the effect of incorrectly cuing the comparison dimension in delayed matching in pigeons

Pigeons were trained on delayed matching-to-sample trials in which red and green sample stimuli were equally often followed by color comparisons and by line-orientation comparisons. The color samples were preceded and accompanied by cues (a triangle or a black dot) that signaled whether the comparisons on that trial would be colors or lines. Length of the retention interval was manipulated during testing, and probe trials were included on which the dimension of the comparison stimuli either was cued incorrectly or was not cued. Accuracy on incorrectly cued and on no-cue trials was less than that on correctly cued trials, and the magnitude of this effect was not influenced by the length of the retention interval. Accuracy on incorrectly cued and on no-cue trials was equivalent, and was greater than chance. The data are inconsistent with two dual-coding interpretations of the effects of incorrectly cuing the dimension of the comparison stimuli in which it is held that both retrospective and prospective sample coding occurs in this task.     

Parent Self-Reports of Discipline Practices and Child Acting-Out Behaviors in Kindergarten

The relation between parent interview reports of physical discipline at home, and children's acting-out school behaviors was examined in part to validate interview methods of assessment for early intervention. Parent reports of discipline methods were gathered at entrance to kindergarten, and teacher reports of acting-out behaviors were obtained twice in kindergarten and in first grade. Children who required physical discipline at home exhibited significantly more acting-out behaviors at school than did their nonphysically disciplined peers. Children who received frequent physical discipline (at least once per week) acted out significantly more than those who received infrequent physical discipline. The frequency of nonphysical discipline at home was not related to degree of acting-out school behaviors. Socioeconomic status (SES) was significantly related to acting out in first grade but not in kindergarten. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of interview methods of assessment for early intervention.     

Virtual relationships and real benefits: using e‐mentoring to connect business students with practicing managers

This article reports the results of our study of electronic mentoring (e‐mentoring) in a population of business students. As career paths have become more fluid and less predictable, a growing number of educational and business organizations have implemented traditional and, more recently, e‐mentoring programs. But practice is ahead of evaluation when it comes to e‐mentoring. We attempted to fill this gap by looking more closely at strengths and weaknesses associated with this type of mentoring. Building on research in traditional mentoring and integrating literature in computer‐mediated communication, education and management, we developed a model of e‐mentoring’s antecedents and outcomes. We tested our hypotheses using a sample of business students (protégés) who were mentored by practicing managers. It was found that perceived similarity in terms of attitudes and values is positively related to effective e‐mentoring, while demographic similarity (gender, race) is not. Moreover, effective e‐mentoring may lead to protégés’ enhanced academic performance, professional network and job opportunities. We conclude with implications of our findings and a discussion of opportunities for future research.     

‘There are lots of different kinds of normal’: families and sex education – styles,approaches and concerns

This paper reports on qualitative research with Australian parents concerning their attitudes to sexuality and relationships education, both at home and in school. A wide range of values and attitudes were represented among parents in this study. Regardless of the varying approaches parents used, all participants expressed a desire for their children to be well informed about sex, sexual health and relationships, yet many felt inadequate to the task of providing high-quality sex education to their children. Some participants blamed this lack of confidence on their own limited education about sexuality. Their main concern was to ensure that their children are safe and that when they do become sexually active their experiences of sex are positive. Most participants saw sex education as primarily their responsibility, with school sex education as an important adjunct. They wanted to be well informed about the timing and content of school programmes for their children, and to be assured that those educators who will be teaching their children about sexual health have the skills and qualifications to do their job well, while remaining sensitive to the diversity of values among students and their families. While most parents who participated in the research supported sexuality education in schools, they did so with reservations. In particular, they wanted schools to take an active role in communicating with them about the content of sexuality education programmes and be open to meeting with those parents who expressed concerns.     

Higher education libraries and SENDA

Reports selected results of a Masters research project which examined provision of higher education library and information services for students with disabilities within the context of the new disability legislation, the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA), which came into force on 1st September 2002. Five HE libraries were selected as case studies and provision was evaluated via staff interviews, student questionnaires and an accessibility audit. The results are presented under three themes: policies; procedures; and practices. Both good and bad practice was identified. All libraries had a disability representative, demonstrating a commitment to disability issues, and many staff had received disability awareness training. Libraries were often well supported by the institutions’ student support services. Accessibility of the built environment was often inadequate for the needs of people with disabilities. Often, lighting was poor, shelving was of inappropriate width and height and signage was far from ideal. Recommendations to improve provision are given covering policies, training, publicity and promotion, co‐operation and liaison.     

“Keeping it real:” Identity management strategies used by teens in conversation

This paper explores the alignment of individual and organizational identity management. Two videotaped conversations between adolescents and teachers were analyzed in order to discover the extent to which individuals enact particular strategies to manage both individual and institutional identities. These episodes demonstrate little support for Pratt & Foreman's (2000) identity management strategies of deletion, integration or aggregation. Compartmentatlization, or the separation between conflicting identities, was the most prevalent strategy employed in both conversations. These findings raise questions about individual's positions within organizations and their abilities to enact various strategies and identities. The authors conclude by urging a reconsideration of the term, “identity management.”     

Thinking Outside the Classroom: Providing Student-centered Informatics Instruction to First- and Second-year Medical Students

With the increasing amount of health information available, the Association of American Medical Colleges recommends that medical students be proficient in information management. Librarians can and should play a role in teaching students these skills. Medical information management instruction is most effective if integrated into the curriculum. However, if options are limited for librarians to teach within courses, there are ways to reach students outside the classroom. This article describes strategies librarians are implementing, outside the curriculum, to teach Texas A & M Health Science Center's first- and second-year medical students how to use library resources.     

Texas Community College Funding: Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Ad Valorem Tax Rates and Revenue

This article examines ad valorem tax rates per $100 valuation and the resultant tax revenues per in-district contact hour for Texas nonmetropolitan and metropolitan public community colleges. The results of the analyses indicate no difference in ad valorem tax rates between these institutions but demonstrate differences in the resultant tax revenues. Recommendations for further research are provided.